𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄
𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒

JULIETTE frowned as they pulled up to the house, cars lining the street and driveway and bright lights shining from inside.

"Oh I'm so excited!" Sadie exclaimed, the Uber driver finally finding the spot to drop them off, coming to a slow stop. "We haven't been to something like this in so long!" Her smile stretched ear to ear as she jumped out of the backseat, Juliette slowly stepping out after her, followed by Noah. "This place looks packed, guys."

"Well, duh! It's a celebrity party, they're always packed. Actors, singers, content creators." Juliette quirked an eyebrow in agreement with his statement.

Her fingers twiddled with the ends of her coat as they approached the front door, music coming from inside flooding through the wood. Noah took the initiative and knocked, knuckles slapping against the wood before he brought his hand back down to his pocket. Juliette nervously bit her lip as they waited, eyes widening as the door flew open, revealing a tall blonde guy.

"Hey! Jonathan told me you guys were coming! I'm Austin!" He smiled brightly at the three friends, Noah smiling back at him, "Hey, man. I'm Noah." The two shook hands, before Noah turned to the girls, "This is Sadie," Sadie waved at Austin, "And this is Juliette."

Juliette smiled nervously and waved, and Austin nodded, "Sick. Nice to meet you guys. Come on in." The three stepped past Austin into the empty foyer, Juliette looking up and around at the guys coat rack and shoe shelf. "Party is in full swing, we're all mainly out back, but drinks and food are in the kitchen and there's some coolers out back. All downstairs and upstairs bathrooms are available, but bedrooms are locked. And you're more than welcome to hang your coats." Juliette smiled at that, slowly peeling her coat from her shoulders and placing it on the coat hook to her right.

Sadie grinned at him, "Thank you so much for having us! I know we don't know each other, so it's really cool of you."

Austin nodded, smiling down at her and nodding his head behind him, "Go on in, let me know if you need anything." Sadie thanked him, sending him a smile before slipping her hand into Juliette's and pulling her out of the foyer.

Juliette sucked in a deep breath, holding it in for a second as they passed a few stragglers in the living room and kitchen. The house was decorated with ceiling swirls, Happy Birthday banners, balloons and confetti, which made Juliette smile.

They emerged into the backyard, where the rest of the party was scattered around the backyard. Some standing under the porch roof playing beer pong and what appeared to be a massive set of Jenga. Others were standing out by a lit firepit, some sitting in the couches surrounding the pit. And others were either in the pool or around the pool. The backyard had two trees adjacent from each other which had bulbed string lights hanging between them

It was a stunning backyard, and almost had Juliette reconsidering buying her apartment over getting a house.

"Hey!" Sadie waved to someone in the crowd, turning to Juliette, "Go mingle. Get a drink and find someone you know!" She patted Juliette's arm, before disappearing into the crowd. Juliette's jaw fell, turning around to find Noah, but the boy had gotten sidetracked at the giant Jenga and was currently engrossed in finding a loose piece to pull.

Juliette scoffed, playfully rolling her eyes and slowly making her way over to the multiple coolers sitting on the grass.

Sadie smiled widely at Jonathan, the man grinning as she approached him, "Hey! I'm so glad you made it! Did you get her to come?" Jonathan looked down at Sadie, the girl sending a side eye to the blonde boy next to him and the brunette girl under his arm.

"Oh, they're in on it, it's okay. This is Rudy and Elaine."

Sadie smiled, "Hi, I'm Sadie. And yes, she's here. I shamelessly abandoned her by the porch." The four of them looked back, all eyes quickly finding the short blonde girl, standing next to a porch beam with a beer in hand and her eyes locked on her phone.

"Uh, she doesn't go out much. Bit of a homebody, kinda awkward when she's not on stage." Sadie joked, turning back to the others, "Well, we can't interfere any more than we have or it'll be too obvious. They'll bump into each other eventually." Sadie raised a brow, glancing around the backyard, "Speaking of, where's your boy?"

Jonathan chuckled, shrugging and taking a sip of his beer, "Last I saw him he was sneaking inside. But he's a sucker for beer pong so he won't stay hidden long." Sadie chuckled at that, and Jonathan noticed the lack of drink in her hand. "Um, can I get you a drink?"

Sadie smiled, gently nodding, "Uh yeah. Of course. Anything but beer, please." Jonathan laughed, slipping into the crowd behind her to get something from the cooler closest to them.

Juliette bit her lip, looking up from her phone to glance around at the attendees, trying to find some kind of familiar face. From her height, she recognized maybe 3 people, all influencers that she followed online but had never actually met before. She sighed, turning her head to look at Noah as he raised his arms in the air and cheered, his opponent causing the tall tower of jenga to fall.

She smiled at him, rolling her eyes at his severe competitiveness. Figuring she'd go over and maybe join the next game, she started her slow walk over there, turning her head slightly to stuff her phone in her back pocket.

"Oh shit!"

Juliette's eyes went wide as she landed on the floor, pain surging through her as she groaned. Her eyes peered to her left, where her beer had now spilled over onto the grass. "I am so fucking s—" She looked up at the culprit of her tumble, eyes going wide. "Sorry. Juliette? Oh my God." Drew stumbled over his words, placing the rim of his plastic red cup between his teeth and reaching both hands down to help her up.

She reached out, slipping her hands into his, the pain in her butt strong enough to cover the flutter in her stomach. Once on her feet, Drew grabbed his cup from his teeth and bent down to pick up her wet beer bottle, now empty and covered in pieces of grass. "Hi, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He mumbled, grimacing at the beer bottle and tossing it in the trash behind him.

Juliette smiled meekly, shaking her head, "No, it's okay, it was my fault, really. I'm a klutz." Her cheeks grew pink as he stared down at her, "C-Can I grab you another drink?" She nodded, watching as he grinned and walked past her, bending over to grab another beer from the cooler.

Her eyes trailed over his black long sleeve shirt, biceps filling out the fabric perfectly, the gold chain around his neck, and his denim jeans with a pair of Nike's. He had good style.

He twisted the metal cap off and hastily handed it to her, smile not leaving his face once. "Um, what are you doing here?—Sorry, that was rude." He laughed nervously, making Juliette smile, running her nail over the lifted edge of the label on the bottle. "No, it's okay. It's kinda random, yeah. My friend Sadie got invited by a friend, I guess. Practically forced me to come along."

Drew nodded with a smile, thumb brushing over the rim of his cup, "Well, I'm glad she did."

Juliette tilted her head, a smile stretching across her face as she stared up at him. Her cheeks grew warm and she chuckled, "I uh–"

The jenga tower behind her fell over, wood pieces clattering against the cement loudly, causing Juliette to flinch and spin around.

Noah was standing there with his arms to his sides and hand spread open, a shocked and defeated look on his face. "Rematch!"

Juliette giggled, watching her friend scramble to pick up the pieces to rebuild the jenga tower. "Noah is a bit competitive."

Drew chuckled and nodded, "I can see that." He shoved a hand in his front pocket, other hand nursing his cup.

Juliette looked between him and the bright red liquid in his cup, "Can I ask what it is exactly that you're drinking?" Drew smiled and looked down into his cup, swirling the quarter empty liquid inside, "Uh, Madelyn's Magnificent Margs as my friend so humbly named them. Wanna try it?"

Juliette looked up at him and shook her head, "I have lipstick on, I wouldn't want that to get on you-"

"I don't mind. It's just lipstick." He smiled, holding the cup out. She chuckled, grabbing the cup and cautiously bring it to her lips. Before she took a sip, she raised an eyebrow and looked up at him through her lashes, "And you're not poisoning me?"

"Well I already drank some so that'd be stupid on my part." He winked at her, the blonde bringing the cup to her lips to hide the blush on her cheeks.

It was...good. A bit seedy with tang from a lime, but the sweetness of strawberry and another fruit she couldn't put her tongue on. And then there was the slight aftertaste of tequila and orange triple sec. She pulled the cup away from her lips, staring down into the cup and noticing the strawberry seeds floating around in it.

She brushed off the embarrassment of leaving a mauve print on the cup, passing it back to him, "That's delicious. And dangerous." Drew laughed with a nod, "Dangerous for sure."

"What's in that?" She asked, to which Drew frowned and looked into the cup, "I think she said lime, strawberry, pomegranate and blood orange." Juliette nodded, "I need some of that, for sure".

She took the last swig of her beer, tossing it in the trash, "Where can I find it?" She grinned, anxious to get a cup full of this girls magic tequila juice. Drew gestured towards the kitchen, "Here, I'll show you." Juliette shook her head nervously, not wanting to inconvenience him, but he put a hand out with a smile to reassure her, "I don't mind. Plus I could use a refill."

She nodded, stepping aside so he could lead the way. She followed him through the crowd, which was easy enough since he was a giant, and through the sliding doors of the kitchen. The music immediately drowned out once she slid the door closed behind her, noticing the kitchen was completely void of other people.

"Gotta get you a cup..." Drew mumbled under his breath, placing his cup down on the table, grabbing a red cup from a stack and stepping over to the kitchen island. There was an array of chips, dip, and fruits, with a few boxes of pizza that was already ran through by the party goers. And a giant bowl of red liquid with orange slices floating on top nearly gone, but enough to serve the two of them a couple drinks if they hogged the rest of it.

He used a ladle to give her two scoops full, before looking up at her, "Want an orange slice?"

"Sure." She nodded, leaning her hip against the island and watching as he scooped up an orange and put it in her cup. "For you, miss." He held the cup out to her, Juliette bowing her head in appreciation with a smile, "Much appreciated, sir."

Drew chuckled, scooping some into his cup before mirroring her lean against the island as she eagerly sipped the juice. "So, my friend Sadie says it's someone's birthday?"

She looked up at him over the rim of her cup, Drew nodding, "Yeah, Chase. His birthday was a few days ago but we mainly just spent that with the cast. This was all kinda Austin's idea." Juliette nodded and looked around at the decorations, "It's nice. My last birthday was spent in the studio—" She grimaced, looking away from him in embarrassment, "Sorry. Mood killer, jesus."

Drew laughed and shook his head, "Don't be sorry. We've all had that one birthday. When is your birthday?" He took a sip of his drink, Juliette inhaling a deep breath and glancing back up at him, "Uh, December 27th, '97."

"Ouch. Christmas birthday. Did your parents combine your presents growing up?" Drew teased, to which Juliette clicked her teeth and nodded, "No, yeah they definitely did. I mean, I'd get presents on both days, but it was basically just holding half of my Christmas presents hostage for 3 days and giving the rest of them to me on birthday. So I had half the amount of presents to open as my siblings."

Drew laughed, "How many siblings do you have?"

"2. An older brother and a younger brother." Drew raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Middle  child and only girl?" Juliette nodded with a dramatic sigh, "Sharing a bathroom got very complicated in our teen years."

Drew laughed in  agreement, "Yeah, I'm the oldest of four with two younger sisters. Sharing a bathroom was not a walk in the park."

Sadie and Jonathan watched them through the glass door with grins, the two unable to hear their conversation but fully able to see the two laughing in conversation. Sadie could tell Juliette was totally into him. Juliette had signs.

One, she was very slightly leaning in to him. With every joke, she'd bow her head and rock towards him. Not touching him, but a subtle lean.

Two, her entire body was facing him. Juliette was awkward, she rarely fully faced a person she wasn't either comfortable with or attracted to.

Three, she kept tucking her hair behind her ear. It was a nervous tick, one she did when she was on talk shows, doing interviews, talking to someone she liked.

And four, Juliette was holding eye contact whenever she could. Like stated previously, Juliette was awkward. Prolonged eye contact tended to make her uncomfortable, unless talking to close friends and family or a cute guy.

"Think it worked?" Jonathan mumbled, just loud enough for Sadie to hear him over the music. Sadie smirked and nodded, "Oh yeah, it fucking worked. Let's go!" She turned to him and they high-fived, Sadie running off towards the jenga table to tell Noah their plan worked.

The sound of cheering from the actors backyard could be heard across the street. The party had died down a bit, several people leaving to go home by midnight. Leaving just the group of cast members, some friends and their plus ones, and Juliette, Sadie and Noah.

Drew, Juliette, Chase and Madelyn were in an intense game of cup pong. Drew and Juliette on one end and Chase and Madelyn on the other. With Sadie, Jonathan, Madison, and Carlacia on the sidelines rooting for their choice winning team.

AKA Carlacia and Sadie cheering for Drew and Juliette and Madison and Jonathan cheering for Chase and Madelyn.

The teams were neck and neck, with 3 cups in a triangle shape each. Juliette watched through her fingers as Drew tossed the ball, watching anxiously as it bounced against the table and landed in the far right cup. Juliette sighed in relief, dropping her hands from her eyes to give Drew a high five as Jonathan grimaced and chugged the beer in the cup.

Juliette grabbed the second ping pong ball from their cup of water, handing it to the tall man before pulling her lip between her teeth.

Drew made the second shot, leaving Madelyn and
Chase with one cup and Juliette and Drew with their remaining three. "Balls back!" Drew teased, motioning his hands out for Chase to throw both ping pong balls back at him.

Drew laughed as he caught one, the other landing by Juliette's boot and bouncing a couple times. She quickly bent over to grab it, placing it in the cup of water while Drew attempted the final shot.

He leaned back, adjusted his eye with their final cup, and tossed the ball. All eyes were on it as it bounced, a chorus of groans echoing as the ball bounced off the edge of the cup and flew into the grass.

"Shit." Drew mumbled, playfully flipping Chase off to grab the stray ball as Juliette tossed the other one to Madelyn.

Now, it was between the two girls.

Drew reappeared by her side, dipping the pong in water before tossing it to Chase. Juliette watched closely as Madelyn lined up the ball with their cups, bouncing it against the table and cheering as it went in one. Juliette grimaced. She had drank so much beer in the game so far, she's not sure she could thug it out for another 3 chugs.

She grabbed the cup, chugging the triple shots worth of beer in one go, holding back her gag as she placed the empty cup in the stack to her right.

Madelyn lined up once again, shooting the ball out and watching with wide eyes as it missed the cups completely.

Juliette released a relieved breath, smiling as Madelyn tossed the balls back at her. Drew sucked in a breath, stepping behind Juliette and placing his hands on her shoulders like a wrestling coach prepping their wrestler for a match.

"You got this, J. Just focus. Don't them 'em get in your head." Juliette laughed, shrugging the man's hands off to close an eye and line the ball up with their cup.

She looked up at Madelyn through her lashes, sending the other blonde girl a cheeky wink before tossing the ball. Madelyn laughed at Juliette, everyone at the table going quiet as the ball bounced off the table and landed directly in their last cup.

It was silent for a split second, no one could believe it, not even Juliette herself. She had made a total of 2 balls in the entire game and then last second she gets the most important one in.

"Yes!" Drew laughed, turning to Juliette to give her a double high five, Juliette still looking at the cup in shock as Madelyn downed its contents.

"Oh, suck on that birthday boy!" Drew pointed at Chase, the birthday boy laughed and sending Drew the middle finger.

Madelyn came rushing over to Juliette, followed by Sadie, the blonde actress hugging Juliette. "That was an insane shot! Did I just get hustled?" She joked, pulling away from Juliette.

The singer rolled her eyes, looking over at a clearly anxious Sadie. Juliette's face dropped in concern, reaching out to her best friend, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sadie sighed drunkenly, "Nothings wrong, per se. But Noah might've had a bit too much of Maddie's margaritas." A giggle bubbled out from Juliette's mouth when she looked behind Sadie at the outdoor couch, where Noah was passed out sitting up in front of the jenga tower. "Oh no." She chuckled, moving over to him quickly and bending down in front of him.

"Hey, Noah, baby." She mumbled, reaching out to give a gentle slap to his cheek, "Huh—Jenga!" He sat up groggily, eyes adjusting to the brightness of the porch lights.

She whipped her phone out from her back pocket, opening up the Lyft app and ordering a ride for her two friends back to Noah's house. Shockingly, the closest Lyft was right around the corner.

"Yeah, okay. Let's get you home."

She and Sadie lifted him to his feet, the tall boy giggling at the feeling. "Hey, everything okay?" Drew appeared beside her, eyes wide at the sight of Sadie struggling to keep Noah's right side up. "Here," He rushed forward, relieving Sadie of her duty and helping Noah to the front door.

"I'm so sorry." Juliette grimaced, turning to Austin as they approached the front door. Austin waved his hand and smiled, "Do not even worry about it. I'm honestly surprised Chase isn't to that same point yet, he's been housing down beers." Juliette laughed, "Thank you again for having us. I had so much fun."

He smiled down at her, "I'm glad you had fun, and you've definitely got an open invite to every other event I host." Juliette laughed, grabbing her coat and sliding her arms into it, "Thank you."

She quickly rushed outside, closing the door behind her just as the Lyft pulled up. "Okay," She mumbled, watching her feet to ensure she doesn't break her ankle in her platform boots. Drew got Noah in the car, Sadie sliding in after him while Juliette ran around to the other side of the car and bent down to talk to the driver.

The window slowly rolled down, revealing a very wide eyed girl, maybe 19 years old, "Y—You're-"

"Hi, yeah. Uh-" She glanced at her friends in the back seat, "They're going to the same place, they're a little tipsy but they should be fine to get upstairs to his apartment. But—" She pulled her wallet from her coat pocket, yanking out a hundred dollar bill, "Here's this, as both a 'thank you for putting up with them for a 25 minute drive' and in case he throws up."

The girl smiled at Juliette, taking the money slowly, "I love your music." Juliette smiled brightly at the girl, always happy to meet fans. "I'm so glad you love it. Nice to meet you. Drive safely." Juliette leaned back up, watching as the driver rolled her window back up before Juliette opened the back door.

"Okay. I'm taking a different Lyft, like always. Are you guys gonna be okay?"   Sadie nodded reassuringly, "I'm sobering up. I'll drag Noah to his room by his heels if I have to."

Juliette rolled her eyes, glancing at a now sleeping Noah before back at her best friend, "I love you. Text me when you guys are there!"

Juliette closed the door, sucking in a breath and watching the car drive off.

"Why didn't you go with them?"

Juliette gasped, placing her hand to her chest and jumping to look at Drew, who was standing on the sidewalk. "Jesus, I thought you went back inside".

Drew laughed, Juliette ignoring how the sound of his laughter made her insides swirl as she cleared her throat and walked out of the street. "I always take separate rides. They live in the same apartment building about 25 minutes that way-" She pointed out to her left, where the Lyfts brake lights were slowly fading off, "and I live in an apartment about 25 minutes that way." She switched arms, pointing out to her right.

Drew nodded in surprise, "Wow, I also live in that direction. Small world, uh—" He scratched the back of his head before gesturing back towards Austin's house. "Do you want to come back inside, hang out for a little bit? Wait for your Lyft? If you've already ordered one." Juliette contemplated going back home, realizing this was the most fun she'd had in weeks.

"Yeah—no, I haven't ordered one. But I'd still like to come inside and hang out, if the offer's still on the table?"

"Yeah, yeah absolutely."

liked by drewstarkey and 100,560 others
juliettecarter party fit too fire to not take balcony pics 🐱💚

hbd hichasestokes 🤎
September 24th, 2022

sadiejune_ who needs photo creds? not me.💔

smittynoah you look like someones college age artsy granddaughter that only shops at goodwill bc they're broke
-juliettecarter someone's still salty they lost at giant jenga
—smittynoah i know where you live

user no one's talking about drew liking her photo and following her all in one night
-user AND THE BDAY CREDS TO CHASE ? DID SHE GO TO HIS PARTY ? 😭

austinnorth55 record-breaking beer pong champion and her goofy garfield shirt
-juliettecarter you were complimenting my goofy garfield shirt don't lie to the people

user dream friend group i need PICS

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